Statements
Mission
The mission of Dismas House is to transform lives and strengthen communities by providing the formerly incarcerated with holistic reentry solutions.
Background
Dismas House is a 501(c)(3) that serves men recently released from incarceration with affordable housing and an evidence-based reentry program designed to reduce recidivism. In 1974, the late Father Jack Hickey, O.P., along with The Vanderbilt Prison Project (a student-led organization), recognized the vulnerability of and lack of services available to individuals released from incarceration in Tennessee. Dismas House was founded on the idea that by living together, former inmates and college students would mutually benefit each other as they transition to an independent lifestyle and mainstream society. The Dismas House program takes its name from the penitent thief at Calvary (Luke 23:39-43), in the spirit of welcoming forgiveness. Programming is designed to create a family-like atmosphere; hence the slogan, "Dismas is Family." This slogan personifies a value system that recognizes the dignity and value of a person. While at Dismas House, residents often reconnect and rebuild relationships with their families- we offer family reunification counseling and co-parenting support. Through community involvement, residents learn how to interact in social settings without the fear of having to maintain "institutionalized" survival mechanisms. Staff and community members provide programming or volunteer to welcome returning citizens into mainstream society. Dismas House programming is designed to empower residents so they depart as an active and positive member of society. Core services cover basic human needs and include: shelter, food, clothing, technology, and transportation. Participants of the program are required to stay a minimum of 90 days to participate in the development and execution of a client-specific re-entry plan. Holistic programming assists formerly incarcerated individuals in progress toward self-sufficiency, the ultimate goal, by focusing on positive social behaviors, overcoming addictive behaviors, and where applicable managing health concerns, identifying long-term housing, and building wealth. In addition to tangible gains, successful program participants depart with a greater sense of self-worth and an optimistic outlook.
Impact
Tennessee Department of Correction data (2020) shows a recidivism rate or likelihood that an individual will return to prison within three years, of 46.0% in Tennessee. This means that for every two persons who are released from prisons in Tennessee, one will return within three years. A recent national, longitudinal study from the Institute of Justice, Research and Development (2021) found that within nine years, four of five formerly incarcerated individuals will return to prison. Research has shown that there are interventions found in stable, permanent housing, community support, employment, education, and recovery support services to stop the revolving door of recidivism. These interventions are directly attributable to improving healthy thinking patterns, meaningful work trajectories, effective coping strategies, positive social engagement, and positive interpersonal relationships. We built our holistic programming on the 5-Key reentry model, the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) four dimensions of home, health, purpose, and community, and our 50 years of experience serving the reentry population.
Dismas House offers diverse and comprehensive recovery support services. All staff are ACEs trained and take a trauma-informed approach to resident care. Our recovery services are also in direct alignment with SAMHSA's Ten Guiding Principles of Recovery and are integrated into our four pillars of programming. The Dismas House reentry program is 90 days and is accomplished in 3 phases, each achieved by reaching key goals. Once the 90-day program is completed, residents remain on campus in Phase 4 - the stabilization phase, and continue to accomplish the goals they identified and may add new ones. When a resident decides to leave, our case managers and housing coordinator assist them in finding other suitable housing and create an exit strategy to identify support services.
The Institute of Justice, Research and Development research indicates that a focus on strengths and wellbeing is the best approach to maximizing public health and public safety. We will be tracking Dismas graduates for 3 years to see if our holistic approach enables us to achieve the projected 10% recidivism rate for residents on the new campus. Currently, Cohort 1 has a one-year rate of return of 2.5% and Cohort 2 has a one-year rate of return of 0% compared to the State of Tennessee's rate of 26%. Cohort 1 has a 2-year rate of return of 6% compared to the State of Tennessee's 37%. We attribute the improvement in one-year rates of return between the first and second-year cohorts to the addition of clinical programming and relapse prevention plans.
We have also added a Dismas Without Walls program in partnership with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, Behavioral Care Center (BCC), and the Mental Health Cooperative to provide supportive employment services to justice-involved men and women who participate in the BCC for 15 days. The BCC is staffed by the Mental Health Cooperative to help individuals work through their mental health crisis. Upon completion of the 15 days, their records are expunged and they are released to the community. We continue to work with interested individuals to further stabilize them with meaningful employment. Our data shows that 80% of individuals placed through our program are still working.
Needs
Dismas House covers basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing and appreciates the community's generosity by providing clothing, hygiene products, and sundries such as umbrellas, travel coffee mugs, and water bottles. We also need sheets, towels, pillows and comforters. We are always looking to expand our network of fair-chance employers and partner with employers who provide a living wage and benefits package. We have community dinners Monday through Thursday evenings where community volunteers can sign up to serve dinner and help destigmatize the effects of incarceration.
CEO Statement
Dismas House welcomed 93 men and served 152 residents last fiscal year. We added two new state grants, and staff size grew to 22 full-time and 1 part-time employee. Programming improvements were made at intake to increase focus on relapse prevention, and classes were added for noncustodial parents to improve family and interpersonal communications, and improve meal preparation and nutrition skills. The clinical team remained focused on untreated mental health, trauma, and substance use disorders, and we incorporated graduate student interns into our programming under the supervision of the Clinical Director to ensure we can provide residents with all the therapeutic support they need. Having a clinical component completed our evidence-based programming we then implemented an assessment tool to assist case managers in helping our residents create personalized reentry plans to improve their chances for success. Our goal is that less than 10% of our program graduates will return to prison in three years and we are on track to meet this goal.
The Dismas House campus is a valuable community resource, and the quality of our programming is aligned with the standard of excellence as identified by the Institute for Justice Research and Development. Dismas House provides holistic evidence-based programming and effectively shapes the post-release experience of our residents. The addition of our supportive employment program is designed to bring stability and employment support to justice-involved members of the community. Both of these approaches enable us to fulfill our mission to improve lives, build stronger communities, and break the cycle of incarceration.
We are up for the challenge and cannot wait to share the success stories as our journey unfolds.
Kay Kretsch
Board Chair Statement
There has never been a more exciting time for Dismas House. After faithfully serving hundreds of men transitioning from incarceration to freedom for over forty years in our home on Music Row, we moved to our 72-bed campus on 2424 Charlotte Avenue in March of 2020.
We are thankful for the dreams of those who made this campus a reality. We are indebted to those who have spent countless hours planning and executing this new campus. We are humbled by the generosity of those individuals, companies, and organizations that have contributed financially to make this all a reality. We are grateful to those businesses, banks, consultants, lawyers, architects, designers, and other non-profits that have generously shared their talents. We are blessed to have a dedicated Board and Advisory Board. Our staff has been the bedrock of these efforts. We are eternally grateful to our CEO and previous board chair Kay Kretsch for her countless hours of dedication to planning for the new Dismas House.
The future holds challenges:
• We are unwavering in our dedication to ensure that as Dismas House moves and grows we do not lose the family orientation of our program.
• We are committed to raising funds to make this a financially sound step into the future so we can serve hundreds of more men each year.
• We will find new ways to expand the services we offer our residents.
None of what Dismas House does is possible without your support. We need your prayers, your volunteer time, and your money. We pledge to be good stewards of all you give.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Housing, Shelter - Housing & Shelter NEC |
| Secondary Category: | Human Services - Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations |
| Tertiary Category: | Employment - Vocational Rehabilitation |
Areas Served
Dismas House is located in Davidson County and accepts applications from men in prisons or county jails throughout the state of Tennessee. Currently residnets have represented 58 counties of the 96 counties in Tennessee.
| TN |
| TN - Davidson |
